The striped edge painting really brings the piece together and couldn’t be more fitting for a barber.
– Brandon Wilson, designer
The traditional barbershop is to men’s hairstyling what letterpress is to printing. At least that’s the impression you’re left with the moment you handle this letterpress printed business card for Austin’s Shed Barbershop & Supply. Everything about this piece whispers “good ol’ days,” from a simple logo placed at a jaunty angle on the front of this cotton Neenah Crane’s Crest Fluorescent White sheet, to the contact details printed in a typewriter-style font on the back.
“This piece does quite a bit with one-color printing and an exotic finishing technique,” says designer Brandon Wilson, who used Workhorse Printmakers to produce 2,000 cards. “Nice, vintage inspired typography and those stripes make for a card that’s subtle yet sophisticated.”
“Those stripes” are red and black ones painted around the edges of every white card, subtly evoking those found on barber poles for centuries. (And yes, the red is traditionally thought to be a reminder of the barber’s other role as surgeon and bloodletter back in the days when health care and hair care converged disturbingly in one chair.)
“I learned that most print shops weren’t up for doing this kind of edge painting,” says Wilson. “The project was turned down by multiple shops before Workhorse said ‘yes’ without reservation, and did a fantastic job of it.”
